Pick A Number: Estimates of Illegal Population Vary
The LA Times quotes 4 different estimates of the illegal immigrant population, with an explanation of each. The numbers vary from a low of 7 million to 20 million. The 20 million figure was arrived at by Bear Stearns. "The authors of the estimate, Robert Justich and Betty Ng, contend that the census data used by Pew are incomplete. They buttressed that data by including the rate of growth in school enrollment, foreign remittances, border crossings and housing permits. "Demographers should see declines in school enrollment, but quite the contrary," Justich said. "The demand for English-as-a-second-language programs is exploding at a much higher rate [than should be expected.]"
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